Galway jockey achieves second Group One win on the flat in dramatic finish

THE races are literally miles apart. One is the longest steeplechase over four miles and 514 yards in Great Britain and the other is over the shortest distance on the flat – a five-furlong dash to the line.

To find a jockey who has even ridden in both races – the Aintree Grand National at Liverpool and the Nunthorpe Stakes at York – takes a bit of searching never mind find one who has triumphed in each of them.

Well, Galway jockey Graham Lee broke new ground at York last Friday when he became the first rider in racing history to complete the unique Aintree Grand National and Nunthorpe Stakes double.

Lee’s extraordinary feat was only confirmed, however, after an agonising five-minute delay to decide whether his mount, Alpha Delphini, or Mabs Cross had got the verdict in a photo finish.

Both horses had crossed the line locked together in the Coolmore sponsored Group One and the smart money was on a dead heat as the Judge’s examination of the photo-finish print dragged on.

But Lee was the jockey eventually celebrating as the Brian Smart trained 40/1 outsider was adjudged the winner by the tiniest of margins in a race where odds-on favourite Battaash faded into the fourth in the final furlong.

The Mervue native always had Alpha Delphini in the firing line and over the closing 200 yards, the partnership fought heroically to just fend off the protracted challenge of Mabs Cross in a thrilling climax.

And winning trainer Smart heaped praise on the 38-year-old jockey for his guidance in the decision to remove the cheekpieces off the horse for last Friday’s feature race.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and  county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.